Improvement in machinery for making wadding



YUNTTED STATES Friend.

PATENT IIIRAM T. LAIVTON, OF TROY, NFV YORK.

Specification forming part otl Letters Patent No. 9,421, dated November 23, 1852.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM T. LAw'roN, ot' the city of Troy, State of New York, have invented a-new and useful improvement in machinery for sizing, drying, doubling, and ironing textile and ibrillous substances fcr mattresses and quilts and for upholstering purposes; and I do declare'that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, the construction, and operation, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ot this specification, in which- Figure I is a perspective view. A is a frame of the required length and width. B is another frame the same as A, but some shorter. These two frames or sections contain each a drying-chamber with aprons, pipes, the., as hereinafter described. The upper section is placed at such a distance above the lower one so as to admit of free access to all its parts. On these I place two' endless aprons, made of bands, on each side and slatted with wooden or other material made of a triangular shape, so as to prevent the material' from sticking. These slats rest upon the bands at each end from four to eight inches apart, having the apex turned upward, as shown in Fig. 2, which is a longitudinal section representing the inside of the chambers of both the upper and lower sections. These chambers are formed by closing up the under side of the framework between the endless bands, and also the ends, in order to prevent theescape ot the heated air, except upward through the bat or thin-sized material as it passes upon the slats from the size-rolls. For heating these chalubers I use the usual small pipes of different sizes and placed horizontally, as seen in Fig. 2 from a to t, terminating at each end in larger pipes, crossing them at right angles. The escape-steam passes out at C O in l. The lower pipe is for carrying off the condensed water.

In Fig. 2 is represented the endless bands which holds the slats. C is the bottom of the chamber as seen through the slats. R is the steam-pipes. I I I are the cross-bars for keeping the bands clear of the pipes. D CZ represent the rolls on which the series of slats revolve.

In Fig. l c c represent two short cloth aprons driven at d d, and used for the purpose of carrying the unsized'bat to the size-rolls at-F F. The size-rolls are made in the usual way with a steam-packed journal, so as to admit steam to keep the sizing warm. The one in the upper section sizes the top of the bat by letting the sizing through a small aperture in the boxbottom, as seen at Y in drawings, Fig. This box is placed over the size-rolls and fixed with set-screws," so as to regulate the quantity of sizing upon the bat, as represented in sectional drawings, Figs. et and 5. All like gures and letters refer to like parts, the setscrews passing through the slot 2 in the stands 3, which maybe fixed at any distance from the size-rolls, and hence the sizing is let through the apertures either very thick or thin, as the case may require, it being conveyed to the bat as fast as the size-roller turns.

At G, I place a pair of heated rolls of metal similar to the size-rolls, which are heated from the lower chamber and used for the purpose of ironing the t'wo surfaces ot thesized combined material as it comes from the'v size-rolls over the drying-chambers, as seen in drawings, Fig. G, the same letters referrin'gto like parts. The ironing is performed by driving the set of rolls in a contrary direction to the motion ot the bat. The advantages of this method over the usual way are that the sized fibers or texture ot' the material is laid by the friction ot the tight pressure of the heated rolls much smoother than when merely pressed between two rolls in the manner ot' ironing cloth, paper, the.

At H are two sets of tluted rolls of metal with weights for the purpose of compressing the mixture rmly together.

At IJ are two hollow metal rolls similar to the size-rolls, and are heated for the purpose of drying any moisture in the bat which may have been left, thus preventing any liability ot mildew, the.

All of the above machinery is'driven and operated as shown in the annexed drawings.

I deem it an advantage to operate the sizing and drying process independent of the carding-eugines, as they operate as a great hinderance when anything occurs to stop them, and in doing so I use two rolls of carded cot ton or other fibrillous material to be glazed, (marked m m in Fig. 1,) which is unrolled upon the aprons and carried forward to the size-rolls F F, the lower sheet being sized on the bottom and the upper sheet on the top. The two sheets then pass upon the Slat-aprons, and are thus carried over the drying-chambers, as seen at N N, the whole being kept in a straight line by means of iron rods crossing underneath the slats, as seen at I I I in Fig. 2, having the endsfastened to the frame-work just above the pipes. Between the two sheets, which are previously sized, I place one or more sheets of prepared cotton, Wool, or other fibrillous material, mixed or otherwise, as seen at K K. The convenience of this is very plain, as the required thickness can be easily produced suitable for mattresses, quilts, dac., with but little expense. The under coating passes under the small roller O and the upper coating comes down and covers the top. Thus the entire upper and lower surfaces of the com bined materials are glazed. Then the bat passes to the ironing-rolls G, where, by the tight pressure and friction of the heated rolls on the bat by the rolls moving in a reverse direction to the motion of the bat, the fibers are laid straight and smooth, much more so than can be done in the oid method of coinpression, as in cloth, paper, and other inachines. Thence the whole passes between the two pairs of fluted rolls H, where it is compressed firmly together by means of weights, and then is rolled up at P and is ready for packing in bales, &c.

The advantages of this method of making an apparatus for sizing and drying and doubling textile materials are:

First. The expenses of fitting up the drying-chambers are much less than the usual way.

Second. I consider it an advantage to have the two surfaces of the bat sized and dried separately, as the sheets are so very thin that the process is much more rapid and more perfect. Besides, it affordsthe facility of placing any required thickness of the same or of any other fibrillous material-such as hair, Wool, flax, &c.-inside.

Third. I deem it an advantage to have the sizing dried in this open manner on the top of the chambers, thereby freely allowing the steam and dampness" to escape rapidly in the open air. This cannot but operate as a great hinderance to drying when the bat is carried through an inclosed box or chamber, as in the` usual method. p

Thus having fully described my improvement in the foregoing d rawingsand specification, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is y l. Ironing the two surfaces of the combined material after it has been sized and doubled by giving the ironing-rollers a reverse motion to that of the bat, for the purpose and in the manner set forth.

2. The arrangement of the frames supporting the sizing and drying apparatus,one above the other, so that the sheets of fibrous material forming the outside of the wadding may be more readily sized and dried independently of each other, and also for the purpose of facilitating the introduction of any-number of bats of librillous material between the sized sheets in order to increase the thickness of the wadding or batting, substantially in the manner herein described.

HIRA T. LAWTON.

Titnesses B. F. LAWTON, I. FoRsYTH. 

